Civilian Personnel Records at the NARA

It’s not often that a customer will request civilian personnel records from the 1940’s. It’s even less likely that they want research for a worker on an American Indian reservation who isn’t a native American. But I’ve received several requests to write about how to search non-military NARA personnel records, and I decided to use this case as a teaching tool, but respecting my customer’s anonymity.

The only information known was that the search was for a “medical doctor” on an Indian reservation during WWII, amongst the Sioux Indians, perhaps in South Dakota, based on a photo with a member of Chief Sitting Bull’s family. With the help of the customer, we were able to narrow the reservation to Standing Rock (or at least to start there).

Luckily for me, I live within two miles of the Kansas City National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and they have a GREAT staff! Upon verifying that they had at least payroll documentation for Standing Rock, I was feeling pretty lucky!

Who knew that the Kansas City NARA also had boxes and boxes of stuff? They wheeled in five years of boxes, filled with what seemed to be an eternity of loose leaf payroll papers, into a private room, made me sign away my right to breathe should I remove a piece of paper, and closed the door. Crying wasn’t an option, so I began to dig.

Sometimes everything just falls into place. The second page, literally the second piece of paper I picked up had his name, position and salary on it. But what I needed was the beginning and ending of his service. So, jumping around years, I was able to find all I needed, with handwritten notes on his start date, his contract date, and even his resignation date, shortly after the war , on the ledgers.

But I was hired to find his service records, not his payroll. So, I weaved through the paperwork for the Civilian Personnel Office in St. Louis to have the records pulled. They needed the employment dates to pull the personnel file, but it still took over two weeks before the folder was accessible to me. Maybe they were stuffed in a cave somewhere?

Finally the papers were ready for viewing. I left Kansas City with the sun shining, but expecting 1-2” of snow, but St. Louis had a surprise for me. I was scheduled to meet my contact at the Personnel Office at 8:30am the next day, but a 7-9” snowstorm decided to fall overnight. Well, I’m from Kansas! I was there at 8:15am, and with a bit of shuffling from the poor understaffed persons in the office who braved the weather, they found the complete folder (with my name on it) on my contact’s desk. And I was off to work! I copied pages and pages of pertinent personnel information, and even a photo. The bonus for my customer: his parents names – they were from Russia, so they were pretty much unknown before then (I believe). It also appears as though, this service fulfilled military service requirements during WWII, but that is another topic!

So, using the phone as my first tool, I was able to stay within budget. I learned more about the KC NARA while doing my pre-search, even though I visit there all the time, and worked with the Civilian Personnel Records in St. Louis, because I truly believe my life purpose is to master government forms!

I hope your experience is as smooth as mine was. I have attached the website for your perusal, should you need such a search:
http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/civilian-personnel/#hours


Happy Searching!
Kathleen Brandt

a3Genealogy

Accurate, Accessible Answers

a3genealogy@gmail.com

Disappointed Customer

Although I religiously send out customer satisfaction surveys, I do not get them returned as often as I wish. Never do I want an unsatisfied customer; that is not to say I won’t have disappointed customers. What’s the difference? An unsatisfied customer believes you took them for X-amount of dollars, and did not apply the work or your professed skills into the job. But a disappointed customer may have hoped you would fine a needle in the haystack in the 10 hours, 1 month, etc., timeframe, and you did not prove their theory or family folklore to be true.

Getting a disappointed customer’s from time to time is inevitable, but as genealogist we must keep the expectation realistic. If I’m pulling military records, I always send to the customer information beforehand on the 1973 fire and its affect on military records, and an estimated timeframe for the job to be completed. But what happens if there aren’t records, or the records found and reconstructed aren’t clear enough to get copies. Well, I do the next best thing, I transcribe, and I send them any and all information that I do have. It might just be a draft registration card, or payroll information.

I realize the customer does not know what goes into getting military records, the pre-search required by a3Genealogy: obtaining of release forms, coordinating the meetings with the NARA, verifying that the information they gave you guarantees that the John Doe you are searching for is the correct John Doe, etc. But, I must be accountable for due diligence - maintaining a log and action report, not just for the customer (included in part of their final report) but also as a checklist for me to keep that tinge of guilt, caused from disappointing them, at bay, (although it never goes away).

Of course there are other options that you can offer a disappointed customer. What about a Morning Report? Yep, it costs more, but let the customer decide if that solution is within their budget. I try to be creative and provide other options in their final report.

Now, an unsatisfied customer says “something needs to be put into action.” But how would I know, if they did not send back the survey? How can I make amends? How can I redeem the only thing I really sell: my service?!? My pledge is to serve the customer with his/her genealogical needs utilizing my research skills and willingness to try creative ways to possibly obtain the information (even if I’m doing research on a William Smith!)

By using the survey, I can not only learn from what I did right, but why I have an unsatisfied customer. Now, based on information given, I can resolve an issue, or at minimum analyze the situation: Does the customer feel cheated because he was certain in 10 hours you could find his family legacy in 1840?, or was it you who did not read all the documentation that the customer sent you carefully enough, and you missed a vital part of what was expected? The list of what could go wrong is endless, but the best part, is the list that can go right is also infinite.

Great Gifts

Who knew family trees and compilations of family documents, stories, and data would serve as a great holiday gift? I have spent all of November and December putting together Christmas gifts for spouses and children as well as Anniversary gifts for couples.

Some of the gifts were extremely fun to research. One, for example, was to prove a family myth as accurate. (Her husband didn’t believe her family folklore that she came from Irish royalty.). Well, it was proven possibly, maybe, perhaps, TRUE! No, I couldn’t prove in 40 hours that she was related to a Royal family of the 9th century, but I could give her the history of her maiden name, trace her family to the arrival to the USA and place her family in the same country and “general vicinity as the Royal Family.” Well, that was enough for my client, and her husband, who decided to give up the argument and accept his “possible royal-blooded wife.”

Another set of clients (cousins) needed to prove which GGF built the first grist mill of some secluded town in Missouri. I have no idea what the wager was, but it sounded like a family feud, and I really hope I proved it correctly. I haven’t heard from them since.

Basic family trees, with census records, marriage licenses, military service, death certificates, and sometimes newspaper articles, seemed to be the most popular. When accompanied with old photos and even family stories (concocted, believed, or true), these gifts are personal and lively.

Don’t forget: if you wish to have a family history prepared to coincide with a birthday, anniversary, or family reunion, the genealogist needs ample time to complete the research and to create a memorable keep-sake.

Hopefully, you too are gifting and giving for those special occasions! Happy New Year.

Kathleen Brandt

a3Genealogy

Accurate, Accessible Answers

a3genealogy@gmail.com

Pulling WWI and WWII Military Records

I will be going to St. Louis Dec. 2 - Dec. 3 to pull WWI and WWII records. These military records are in St. Louis (those that did not burn in the fire - read below DD214.

At a3 Genealogy, we verify that your records are available. If they are not available for us to pull, we refund your money minus a $15.00 service fee ($60.00). We, of course, do not know what is available in any veteran file, but we copy the entire file for the client, up to the first 25 pages. Most files are less than 25 pages. For additional pages, we charge .35/per page. We will send you a separate invoice if this is necessary. Please note, that we have not had this issue on WWI or WWII records, but on Civil War records and Civil War Pension records.

If you opt for a3 Genealogy to pull your ancestor's military records (must be deceased), you will need to provide the following information, if known:
1. Veteran's complete name used while in service
2. Service number (if available)
3. Social security number
4. Branch of service
5. Dates of service (if available)
6. Date and place of birth (especially if the service number is not known).

The $75.00 charge includes the $15.00 preliminary search and paperwork, up to 25 pages of copying, research in St. Louis, and mailing. I will mail US mail 3 day unless express shipping is needed (extra charge).

Kathleen
a3 Genealogy
Accurate, Accessible, Answers

Newport TN, Cocke County, Research

Sure there are deeds from 1879 and wills from 1879, there are also tax records, and…? If you are looking for good genealogical resources, good luck! I believe I met with the Newport Historian expert and the man who without a doubt is an endless river of knowledge. I dropped in on Duay O’Neil. He not only writes for the Newport Plain Talk newspaper, he is on the board of Stokley Library. Duay was able to narrow and focus my search, quickly reaching for books and accessing info on his computer in the way only a knowledgeable person can do. Straight to the source, verifying his off the cuff data. Oh, and I must thank Missy at the Tanner Culture Center, for leading me to Duay.

I leafed through pages of newspaper articles filed in a notebook that captured the African American history from slavery to present at the library. The history of the African American Education in Newport and the African American churches were both well documented. But where are the original records of these churches? I’d love to see the Member Lists. What about pupils at the school? I have records that a Franklin K. Bird was a pupil for one year under a Professor William H. McGhee, in the Newport High school in 1871.

This leaves me with a few questions: 1) High school in 1871? Every thing I’ve read said there wasn’t a high school for coloreds until after 1872. 2) Perhaps if I could narrow down the poles, bounds, and trees of the 3 acres of family land, maybe then, I could verify the town this High School was in. 3) FK Bird’s biography was written for the AME Zion Church in 1895, how much of it is accurate, how much is misremembered? This is in consideration of the fact that I haven’t found a William McGhee in any of the educational articles I’ve read.

Believe me, more questions is not what I needed!

Kathleen Brandt

a3Genealogy

Accurate, Accessible Answers

a3genealogy@gmail.com

Prayer of Thanks

Finally I reached the beginning. It all began in Rutherford North Carolina in around 1817, and continued in Eastern Tennessee in 1869. I won’t be able to explore Rutherford for another 3 days, but I’m sitting in the Newport, Tennessee, Comfort Inn as I write this blog.

I’ve exhausted the accessible and inter-library books, newspapers, microfilms and fiche, as well as online and database searches of the family. I’ve received the results from a preliminary 12point DNA - I know, basic, but it was all I needed to get 11/12 match all with the surname Morris in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, no trace in Africa which is what I was trying to locate. Logically the last step, at least for me, is to now scour the local courthouses, see the land, try to connect the dots, and fill in the holes (and there are many).

So today I landed in Charlotte and drove the 3 hours to Newport Tennessee through the majestic Appalachians, crossing the so well-researched French Broad River, imagining the rugged path they crossed on horses December of 1869. I minded the speed limits closely 65, 55, 70, as to slowly take in the terrain, the sites, the greenery, the home-place of Wiley, the slave, the blacksmith, the man who paid for his own freedom in 1855. The man who successfully established his family in Rutherford and Eastern Tennessee, in spite of his less advantageous start in life as a slave.

As I did the trek, I could only say a continuous prayer of gratitude thanking God for His generosity in opportunities, and my ancestors for their ever-growing flicker of American hope .


Kathleen Brandt

a3Genealogy

Accurate, Accessible Answers

a3genealogy@gmail.com

WWI and WWII records

If you would like a genealogist to pull your dad's, uncle’s, mother’s or any other ancestor’s WWI or WWII records, there is usually a fee for pre-processing, verification of records, copying, and mailing. This of course can be controversial since the records are free for veterans. However, it is free, because they are doing all the legwork, not the genealogist.

I never discourage a client from doing their own research. They usually decide it is not their “cup of tea” and would prefer to pay the expert. It is like making the decision of whether to make homemade soup for pennies on the dollar, or just pay the $2.79 for half the quantity (and quality) for Progresso? Even though a kitchen lover may have no qualm about the time it takes to prepare the homemade broth, most people prefer to spend that time in the garage with their newest project, quilting, or just watching CSI. Even professional genealogists chose to hire someone else to pull records. Why use your precious research time, or miss a client deadline traveling to St. Louis, scouring records, when you can continue your client-work knowing someone is working for you?

But, even if you opt for the genealogist to do the work, you still need to provide essential information. Remember, we don’t know your granddad! You will need to provide the following:
· Veteran's complete name used while in service
· Service number (if available)
· Social security number
· Branch of service
· Dates of service (if available)
· Date and place of birth (especially if the service number is not known).
· and a signed authorization form (for most genealogist).

If you want more information on the process, here is the link to read. It may also help you make a decision as to whether you are up to the task yourself or not:
http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/public/visitors-services.html

I will be going to St. Louis August 19th-Aug 21 to pull WWI and WWII records. WWI and WWII records are in St. Louis (those that did not burn in the fire). I will mail US mail 3 day unless express shipping is needed (extra charge).

Kathleen Brandt

a3Genealogy

Accurate, Accessible Answers

a3genealogy@gmail.com